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Pride at Work Reacts to TPP Withdrawal

Washington – On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order removing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which Pride at Work has opposed for more than two years. Pride at Work Executive Director, Jerame Davis, made the following statement in response:

“We are cautiously pleased that President Trump has removed the United States from the TPP. Aside from being a bad deal for working people, the environment, and our food supply, TPP would have elevated the trade status of countries that abuse, criminalize, and, in some cases, kill their LGBTQ citizens. What’s more, the extensions on patents for certain biologically derived medicines would have driven up the cost of life-saving medications for severe illnesses like HIV.

“It is now up to President Trump to negotiate new trade deals that are more in keeping with the interests of working Americans. He has promised to put America first in all of his deals, but it’s unclear if he means he will put American workers first or the interests of Wall Street and corporate CEOs.

“Our increasingly globalized economy is dependent on trade, but we must be smart about the agreements we sign. Our country’s working people – and the unions that represent many of them – are suffering greatly under bad trade deals negotiated in the past. We believe President Trump’s promise to negotiate trade deals that help working Americans can only be fulfilled if new trade agreements take working conditions, worker’s rights, and labor and environmental standards into consideration.

“New deals must also end the practice of allowing corporations to sue sovereign nations for lost profits under the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) regime. And every trade agreement going forward must always protect the rights of vulnerable populations, such as LGBTQ people, women, and children.

“Trade should benefit every American, not just Wall Street and corporate CEOs. Pride at Work will continue to oppose any new trade agreement that doesn’t meet these basic standards.”

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Pride At Work organizes mutual support between the organized Labor Movement and the LGBTQ Community for social and economic justice. We seek full equality for LGBTQ Workers in our workplaces and unions and we organize in the spirit of the union movement’s historic motto, “An Injury to One is An Injury to All.” Learn more at www.prideatwork.org